Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Richard Moyer <ramoyer AT gmail.com>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle
  • Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:15:17 -0400

Rob and Laurie,
We've been harvesting, cooking and eating stinging nettle for years,
primarily in mid spring during and after morel season. My wife would
cook and freeze nettles in small portions (such as in ice cube trays)
for later use, depending on when the child was due. A
non-constipating source of prenatal iron.

With care and concentration, nettles can be picked bare-handed, but
gloves or bagged hand recommended. I usually grasp a leaf at the top
of the plant, then cut off the tender portion with scissors, throwing
the tops in a bucket or tote. 2, 4 or 6 pairs of leaves, depending on
tenderness as you cut the stem. You get a feel for it. Once the
bloom buds appear, the plant stem and leaf ribs get tough, so less
desirable for eating whole. I understand why chefs would want only
the leaves from older plants, but I would steam them first to make
sure the leaf stem and midrib is not tough. From younger plants, the
whole top can be used so harvesting is much quicker. The season is
spread out by collecting later from shaded areas and north slopes.
But still very much a seasonal product, like young lambsquarter or
milkweed greens.

If someone is drying nettles, then pulverizing the leaves perhaps
older, tougher plants still work.

We sold the first of it this year, priced the same as other spring
greens, which we tend to do by the amount of labor we put in it,
somewhere between $5-$18 per lb.

Richard Moyer
SW VA

From: "Rob Wallbridge" <rob AT songberry.ca>
> To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle (WAS: squash blossoms)
> Message-ID: <E138ABF4CF9941ED850B1B2A39E1A816@OrganicMeadoPC>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Hi Laurie,
>
> I'm afraid I'm no stinging nettle expert! This woman approached me two weeks
> ago and asked if I had it, and I knew we had wild patches all over the farm,
> so I asked her to email me late in the week to remind me to harvest it for
> her.
>
> I just went out with a pair of shears and heavy gloves and cut the stalks
> off near the ground, bunched them with an elastic and shoved them in a
> grocery bag -- probably about 10 stalks and I asked her for $5.00 -- she
> reacted as if she'd be willing to pay more, but how much do you charge to
> get rid of a weed that's practically growing at your back door?
>
> They were big plants -- a foot or more tall, and starting to flower. Years
> ago I ate them steamed and in a quiche when they were harvested as young
> leaves in the spring, so I wasn't even sure if she'd take them, but she said
> she'd make soup and dry the rest for tea. They were for her thyroid, I
> think. Maybe I should be drying the plants, then stripping off the leaves
> and packaging them for the herbal medicine market, who knows?
>
> Wish I could be more help -- for me, it was quick attempt to meet a customer
> request, and I didn't put a lot of thought or research into it, to be
> truthful.
>
> Cheers,
> Rob
>
> Rob Wallbridge
> Songberry Organic Farm
> 24 Sixth Line, Bristol, QC J0X 1G0
> email: rob AT songberry.ca
> web: www.songberry.ca
> facebook: become a fan of "Songberry Organic Farm"
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
> [mailto:market-farming-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Barking Cat
> Farm
> Sent: Monday, July 12, 2010 12:06 PM
> To: Market Farming
> Subject: [Market-farming] Stinging Nettle (WAS: squash blossoms)
>
> Rob,
>
> Thanks for sharing your experiences. If you don't mind sharing, I have
> several questions about how you packaged and priced stinging nettle.
>
> What kind of price did your stinging nettle fetch? Did you cultivate it, or
> did it grow wild? We have it all over our farm, and we have some interested
> chefs so my pricing would have to be wholesale level.
>
> Also, how did you deliver it? Did you bunch or bag just the leaves or
> include the stem as well? About how big was your bunch? One of our
> interested chefs has indicated they want just the leaves, but I've not seen
> it packaged for sale anywhere, so am looking for pointers.
>
> Last thing I can think of now is how tall was the plant when you harvested,
> and how big were the leaves? I have no idea at what stage to harvest.
>
> I'm not thinking I'll get rich harvesting this "weed" for some of my
> customers, that stings like the devil and I have to mow down anyway. But
> to those who like to cook with it, it's just another little something out of
> the ordinary I can offer.
>
> Thanks in advance,
> Laurie
> _______________________________________________
> Market-farming mailing list
> Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
>
> Market Farming List Archives may be found here:
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/market-farming/
> Unsubscribe from the list here (you will need to login in with your email
> address and password):
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/options/market-farming
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 9.0.830 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2998 - Release Date: 07/12/10
> 02:36:00
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2010 10:13:49 -0700
> From: Samish Heirlooms Farm <info AT samishheirloomsfarm.com>
> To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> Subject: [Market-farming] Degradable Mulch
> Message-ID:
> <B1F58C7D-89DA-40FA-9C32-B24F164BC022 AT samishheirloomsfarm.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Here is a link to research done at WSU on the referenced subject:
> http://vegetables.wsu.edu/AltMulch.html
>
> Bradley Smith
> Samish Heirlooms Farm
> Sedro Woolley, WA
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL:
> <https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/market-farming/attachments/20100712/6ef45874/attachment.htm>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Market-farming mailing list
> Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
>
> Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm
>
>
> End of Market-farming Digest, Vol 90, Issue 20
> **********************************************
>




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page